Advises on how to send documents by email

2012-02-16

Maeci

How to scan a document and send it by email

The email system of the Consulate General of Italy in NY will reject any attachment that are 3.0MB (or 3,000KB) or larger. Note that your combined file size if submitting multiple filings is unlimited, but you may run into problems transferring huge amounts of data. Please read on...

How can you transform your documents into digital format without getting big files?

For general purposes, you can setup your scanner with the following settings:

In this way, you will get a file of few dozens kilobytes, but perfectly readable and printable.

For your convenience you can find below some general tips about scanning methods.

Converting documents to PDF rarely exceed 5.0MB since you usually can get hundreds of pages into a 3.0MB file. Scanned-to-jpg documents can be problematic since scanning creates a MUCH larger file size for the same number of pages compared to converted documents. There is no way to tell exactly how many pages you can get into a file under 3.0MB when scanning, but here are some examples:

100 pages converted to PDF may be only 1.5MB. 100 pages scanned at high resolution may be 18.0MB! 100 pages scanned at low resolution may be only 3.0MB.

You must consult the instruction manual that came with your scanner's documentation or the manufacturer's website/customer service helpline for assistance is using your scanner.

The key to creating a good attachment from a scanned document is to find the best balance between image quality and file size.

Each document is unique as are the hardware and software packages used to scan them. But, there are several factors that can universally help in the creation of high quality scanned images that are an appropriate size for reviewing over the Internet:

Do not use color recognition unless absolutely necessary.Scanning a black and white document as if it were color increases greatly the file size without adding any value to the scanned image. In general, reserve color recognition for photographs, topographic maps, drawings with color annotations, etc.

Limit the dimensions of each page to their true size.Having extra "white space" along the length and/or width of a scanned document adds unnecessary overhead to the size of the resulting file. A common mistake that can easily be overlooked is to scan an 8.5 x 11" document as if it were 8.5 x 14". The blank area at the bottom of the image actually counts towards in the overall size of the file.

Determine the lowest acceptable resolution (very important!).The resolution or dots per inch (dpi) of an image is crucial to both its quality and size. For example, doubling the resolution from 150 to 300 dpi might improve detail on your image but it can quadruple the resulting file size! A resolution of 150 to 200 dpi seems to typically provide a good image that views and prints well and is accurate to the original document.

Check the result if you use Optical Character Recognition (OCR)OCR can alter a scanned image! OCR attempts to interpret every element that is being scanned as a recognizable word found in the dictionary of the software with which you are scanning. For example, the last name "Smythe" may be changed to "Smith".

You can find more specific informations writing to the Information Technology Department of the Consulate. Email: newyork.itc@esteri.it